As I always promise you, I am always looking for stories that major media outlets miss. Last year we were all preoccupied with the disaster of Covid-19 and the contested presidential election here in the US. A half a world away in South Africa, a cataclysmic event took place. Former President Jacob Zuma was jailed for 15 months on a charge of contempt of court. (Please this was just "the tip of the iceberg." The 5,700-page Zando Report identified some $32 billion US dollars in corruption associated with Zuma and the ruling African National Congress.)
What followed was violence and social
unrest on a grand scale throughout South Africa. There were tens of billions of
dollars in property damage. Sadly, many people were killed and injured. The
economy collapsed for 4 weeks. The police and military struggled to regain
control and restore order. They were not successful. When authorities agreed to
transfer Jacob Zuma to house arrest on a "medical parole," the violence
subsided. One year later the police and military are unable to identify the
organizers and leaders of this massive social upheaval.
I have given this event great thought. I'm
sure that over 95% of the rioters were black Africans and mixed-race coloreds.
The reason behind this social unrest is far deeper than Jacob Zuma.
Before 1994, South Africa had a system of
Apartheid separating races. The best jobs were reserved for whites and Chinese
who were classified under this race system as "Honorary Whites."
Black Africans, mixed-race coloureds, and Indians of Indian ancestry were
excluded from these jobs.
During the struggle to end Apartheid, many
senior ANC members were imprisoned for decades. Those lucky enough to flee the
country did not go to Moscow or Havana (for example.) Most of them ended up at
a most unlikely place-Rutgers University in New Jersey. This includes the
current president of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa. An acquaintance of mine who
has been most kind to me ended up at Rutgers. Her name is Barbara Joyce
Masakela (Her brother is the late jazz great Hugh Masakela,) If you watched the
Clint Eastwood film "Invictus," you saw a most capable woman who was
Nelson Mandela's right-hand person. It was Ms. Masakela. When Apartheid ended
and Nelson Mandela came to power, the black majority was full of hope and
expectation. They were sure that the massive 27% unemployment would end.
Some 28 years later, the black and
coloured unemployment in South Africa is still around 27%. The Indian
population has prospered due to habits of good education and skill in business
in technology. The ruling African National Congress has made an effort to
improve infrastructure in black and coloured areas.
What went wrong? When the barriers to employment
came down, many business opportunities were opened to black and coloured
people. Only the highly educated blacks like the group that had been at Rutgers
University had the skills to take advantage of these opportunities. A few black
elites became quite wealthy and powerful.
What should have happened was massive
education programs to uplift black and mixed-race coloured people. Massive
corruption hobbled these programs. The vast majority of blacks and mixed-race
coloured people saw little change in their lives and little hope for the
future. Then Jacob Zuma came along. Despite his corruption and lavish personal
lifestyle, he became "the beacon of hope" for all these downtrodden
people. Any move against him by authorities led to rage. The result was a
violent uprising. I have a feeling that South African authorities are afraid to
bring the full weight of the law on Zuma. They fear another uprising like the
one a year ago.
There are a couple of other countries in
the world with large and disgruntled segments of the population. They see
certain political leaders as their hope and salvation. Such massive and violent
social unrest might not be limited to South Africa in the future.
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